The agenda called it a town hall meeting to discuss underage drinking, but more than one topic, including police community relations, was discussed at a meeting attended by about 50 people at the Vicksburg Housing Authority community center Wednesday night.

“This is special that you came because you care; that you came out despite the heat,” program coordinator the Rev. Manney Murphy told the crowd, most of whom were residents living at VHA’s Rolling Acres community, where the authority’s main offices are located.

“It shows most of all you are concerned about your community and about how we look out for one another to make our communities better,” said Joseph Johnson, executive director of Central Mississippi Prevention Services, which sponsored the meeting.

North Ward Alderman Michael Mayfield also commended the residents for turning out.

“All of us have a stake in this community,” he said. “What’s good for one is good for all of us.”

While Murphy and Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace discussed underage drinking, other speakers at the meeting looked at other topics.

Warren County Supervisor Charles Selmon urged parents to set a good example for their children; Vicksburg NAACP president John Shorter discussed police traffic stops and provided advice how to behave if someone is stopped by police; and Vicksburg Police Chief Walter Armstrong discussed police community programs and touched on recent events involving police shootings and demonstrations against police in other cities.

All of the speakers finished their presentations with a simple message, “If you need me, call me.”

“We need you more than you need us,” District 55 Rep. Oscar Denton, D-Vicksburg, said. “Hold my feet and the other officials’ feet to the fire.”

Shorter discussed police traffic stops, saying he has urged police to tell people why they were being stopped.

“Don’t get into an argument with an officer,” he said. “If you believe you’ve been treated wrong, call us or file a report with police internal affairs.”

Armstrong agreed.

“Getting into a fight with a police officer on the road is not the place to deal with a problem,” he said. “The place to do that is the courts or by filing a report with internal affairs.”

He said police are now wearing body cameras, “Not just to protect the officers but to protect the citizens.”

Police, he said, are human, and some do have a potential fear for their life when they respond to a call or make a traffic stop.

He said the city is divided into seven beats, each patrolled by an officer, who is urged to get out of their car and visit with people, including filling out citizen call sheets, which make it easier for police to contact people in an emergency or to check on suspicious activity at a home.

Looking at the demonstrations in Baton Rouge, La., Minneapolis and Ferguson, Mo., Armstrong said people eventually resorted to tearing up their cities and rioting, adding one person breaking into a store during the Ferguson riots told a television reporter, he never heard of Michael Brown, who was killed by police officer in the town. Brown’s death in 2014 sparked protests and riots against police in Ferguson.

“He (the rioter) was just there to cause damage,” he said.

“There is nothing wrong with peaceful protests, and you have a right to do that,” Armstrong said, “but make sure you get all the facts (about a case) before you do.”

On the issue of underage drinking, Pace said more young people ages 12 to 24 die from alcohol abuse than from any other drug. He urged parents to talk to their children about alcohol and its abuse.

Selmon also touched on the alcohol theme.

“Children learn from their parents,” he said. “If they see you smoke and drink alcohol, they’re going to do what you do. If they see you do the right thing, that’s what they’re going to do.

“It’s easy to tell what’s going on in a person’s house. All you have to do is watch their children.”